


The Empty Chair

by lookoutol_mackeyisback



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dungeons & Dragons, Angst, Established Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, M/M, Magic, Married Couple, Married Life, Prompt Fic, Sad Ending, Tumblr Prompt, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookoutol_mackeyisback/pseuds/lookoutol_mackeyisback
Summary: Life isn't always an adventure, being married to an adventurer. Sad DaiSuga Prompt One-Shot.Prompt: Candle Wax, Dusty Shelves, Dried Flowersin advance, im sorry. love you all. comments appreciated!
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	The Empty Chair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abstractelysium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abstractelysium/gifts).



Daichi glanced down at the timepiece in his hand. The clock ticked methodically. Little wisps of green energy illuminated the face. It was almost time to close up the shop. 

He took off his smock, put the various gears and trinkets in the pockets and hung it up on a nail on the wall. 

He was eager to get home. It was Friday and it had been a long week. 

A mage and his adventuring party had strolled into town on Tuesday morning wanting him to enchant some cloaks and flasks and things and set down a heavy pouch of coinage before he could say no.

It was a rush order, so Daichi had completed it quickly, even before the gentleman had dropped by this afternoon, like he had asked. Still, there were many long nights at the workshop that week that he wished he didn’t have to commit to. Nevertheless, he was dedicated to his customers and didn’t want to lose any patronage by being lazy. 

The bell on the door rang and he looked up from where he was putting away his supplies behind the counter. 

“Hello? ...C-Can I help you?” 

The door was open, but no one was there. He felt the wind blow around him, ruffling his hair and raising the ones on his arm. He heard footsteps near the back of the shop. 

“...Suga? Suga...I swear to Melora...if yo-”

A younger gentleman with messy grey hair and pointy ears appeared next to him in a poof of orange energy. He wore a green tunic behind studded leather, a belt with various knick-knacks, and tall ornate boots that matched. He was sitting cross-legged with his chin perched on his hand, on top of the counter, a wicked smile flashing on his face.

“Ahh!” Daichi screeched and fell backwards, all the items in his hands toppling over onto the wooden floor. 

Suga reared back with laughter, his sides splitting as he roared. The horn on Suga’s waist clanked against the lip of the table, the daggers peeking out, unsheathing in their slots.

Daichi gritted his teeth together. _“Suga! Don’t…..fucking….do that!”_

Daichi stood up once more, annoyed. 

“Oh, babe,” Suga said between giggles, “...But I love making you jump!”

Daichi rolled his eyes and smiled, even though he was still miffed. 

The elf tried to get off the counter but Daichi pinned him, a weak sort of revenge for the trick, putting his hands on Suga’s thighs. 

Daichi pulled on Suga’s tunic, bringing him in for a long kiss on the lips before parting once more. 

As they disconnected, Suga waggled his finger in Daichi’s direction. “Oooh, Daichi. Kissing a paying customer while you're still open?”

Daichi snapped back. “Pfffft, we’ve done much worse than kiss in here while I was working, hm?” His eyes drifted toward the back room. 

Suga looked around putting his hands up. “Okay, guilty.”

Daichi hummed his agreement and backed away as Suga straightened, hopping down off the counter. “I’m making dinner tonight.”

“Oh, you are?”

‘Yeah! Ennoshita and I killed a boar and butchered it this morning.”

“Oh, nice.”

Suga’s gaze drifted and his mind went far away, unfocused on the conversation.

Daichi seemed to notice. “Uh, Suga? Are you okay?”

“We…” he said hesitantly. “We need to continue our conversation.”

“Which one?”

The elf went quiet then turned towards Daichi. “You know which one.”

Daichi’s face went slack. “Oh. That one.”

A moment later Suga replied, a seriousness in his tone. “But it can wait until after dinner.”

“Yeah.” 

Daichi sighed, then looked around the shop at the mess. “Here, you _fiend,_ ” he thrust a wand and some smaller metal objects into Suga’s hands. “Help me clean this stuff up and we can walk home.”

______________________

The candle wax dripped onto the table in front of them. Empty plates, forks, and knives lay scattered next to one another. 

Suga tilted his head, uneasiness floating in his voice. “Did….did you want to continue our talk?”

“Yes...and no.” Daichi said.

“Daichi. Please. We’ve been together for more than ten years.” 

Daichi stared at a piece of meat on a platter in front of him, expressionless. 

Suga itched the tip of his left ear, nervously. His voice dropped. _“Please…”_

Daichi’s eyebrows furrowed. His chest heaved up and down, accepting Suga’s request. Suga watched him put his hands in his lap, still staring at the piece of meat. 

“What….um….what if we-”

“No.” The reply was quiet, but firm. 

Suga’s eyes went bigger. 

“No?”

 _“Yes,_ I said no.”

“No...to what?”

A pregnant pause turned the air in the small home thicker. “I….can’t do this. You know I can’t.” 

“Daichi, I-” Suga started but backed off. “We….”

“We _what,_ Suga? Huh? How can you sit there and look at me like that. How can you pretend like everything is fine between us?”

“ _Babe, please_ …I didn’t think about it before. But now...”

“And now…you still don’t want to. No matter how many times I try to convince you. You will leave and I will be alone. It’s just a fact.”

Suga’s eyes drooped down, the weight of Daichi’s words dragging him lower in his seat.

Daichi put a thumb and finger on the bridge of his nose, pinching the space together until wrinkles showed up all over his forehead. Matter-of-factly, he straightened. “Are you going to go?”

“I don’t know,” Suga said to the floor.

“How can you _say_ that, Suga?” The sharpness in his tone was coated in hurt. 

“Dai-“, Suga started but Daichi cut him off. “You can’t protect everyone.”

“Yeah, b-but I can at least protect the people I love.”

Daichi frowned deeply. “Not this time you can’t.” He put his fist down on the table, the silverware rattling. “You know just as much as I do what will happen if you go. Last time you came home it took you, _what,_ four weeks to recover, and now? You wanna go _back_? You’re just not _strong enough,_ Suga!”

The words stung but Suga watched, demure, as his husband unraveled.

“I can’t believe you want to abandon me for some stupid conflict neither of us needs to get involved in! You know the risks better than anyone! You’re so damn selfish!” Daichi stood up. “You are not thinking about me, about _us._ ”

Suga gasped and tears stung his eyes. The words pierced and jabbed. Suga’s brow furrowed as he explained. “I-I hate to hurt you this way, Dai. You know I don’t have a choice. This war is bigger than both of us, and if I don’t do something, so many innocent people will die. In three days, whether we like it or not, I have to go. It’s my _duty_ to go.”

Daichi sighed heavily. “What happens if _you die,_ Suga?”

Softly, he replied, “I c-can’t promise that I won’t.”

“Exactly.” Daichi crossed his arms, defensively.

The tears fell silently, whether Suga wanted them to or not. Down, down his cheeks, they stained his face with uncertainty and regret. 

Daichi waited impatiently for Suga’s answer. When none came, he huffed and pushed the chair further back. He grabbed his cloak and bag and stormed out the door. 

_“Daichi, wait!”_

He didn’t stop. 

Suga lifted his hands to his face, wiping away the tears as they fell. 

_____________________________________

Daichi stares across the table at the empty chair.

He buries his hands in his hollow cheeks. Drool pools at the corners of his mouth and snot drips down his nose onto his lip. His eyes sag, bloodshot and heavy lidded.

He sighs and looks around the darkened room. A dull space that aches to have life reclaim it. The shelf where Suga’s potions once sat is dusty and untouched. The flowers from Ennoshita three weeks ago had wilted and were dry. 

He clutches at his chest, an old wound flaring. When the pain doesn’t subside, he slides his fingers up through his greasy, long black hair. He winces and wishes he could take it all back; the words he spat at Suga, the way he left him here, alone. 

A single, hot tear slides slowly down Daichi’s cheek. Then another. And three more. 

The whimpers come, too, slowly. Shaking, his chest feels heavier and heavier, until he allows the small sobs to overtake him. 

It had been ten months since Suga left. Three, since the funeral.

The chair stares back, unmoving.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, comment. If you didn't, comment. I love you!


End file.
